The Importance of Sound

Remember that the soundtrack of your film is at least as important – arguably more important – than the visuals.

Your soundtrack will have many layers – audio tracks when you edit – which are mixed carefully together for the final result.  It is often difficult to get good sound when filming (particularly outside on location) so you will probably need to record separate sounds (effects and sometimes dialogue) to add to your film later. Concenbtrate on getting the pictures when filming.

Sound that naturally comes fromm the scene being watched is called DIEGETIC SOUND.   This will be dialgoue, ambient sounds, sound effects (on and off camera), etc.

Sound that is added to enhance the mood which characters in the film cannot really hear, particularly music but perhaps also a voice-over narration, is called NON-DIEGETIC SOUND.

You will almost certainly need to use a combination of both in your final film.

You will see how important sound is when you add some effects and music to your edited film. It will transport it to a new level.